The Millennium Heart III: Memoirs Of A Pharaoh
by PharaohsThrone
Summary: After all the chaos of the past year, part 3 brings the gang's biggest challenge yet. Rose and the Pharaoh finally get the chance to regain their lost memories and find out exactly what happened all those years ago, but in order to do that they have to relive the great battle that almost ended Egypt. But before they even get to that...(full summary inside)
1. Chapter 49 - Fear Factor

**PART 3**

After all the chaos of the past year, part 3 brings the gang's biggest challenge yet. Rose and the Pharaoh finally get the chance to regain their lost memories and find out exactly what happened all those years ago, but in order to do that they have to relive the great battle that almost ended Egypt. But before they even get to that they have another Duel Monsters tournament, and a wild card that threatens to tear them apart, that Rose figures out the hard way.

Amidst the excitement that is Seto Kaiba's grand new tournament, Rose and the Pharaoh are only just coming to grips with their feelings for each other, when an old acquaintance throws it all off balance. The only thing that the gang can gain from this experience is the knowledge that everyone is human, and we all make mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 49: Fear Factor**

Warm afternoon sun cast its radiant glow onto the footpath as Rose casually walked through the automatic doors, breathing in the pleasant smell of spring. The short walk to where she had parked her motorbike was along a cement walkway, lined with greenery and blooming flowers. Spring had always been her favourite season, even though she had only made that decision a few years ago after waking up in a hospital and not remembering a thing before hand. Rose couldn't help but think to herself how far she had come since that day, with no relatives or friends, and then after an unlikely turn of events, suddenly being surrounded by wonderful people. She had been through some very interesting adventures in the few years of memory she had, it was probably more excitement than anybody at her old work had ever encountered. She smiled to herself as she made her way along the footpath. The walk from the entrance to Kaiba Corp was always a little longer for her than anybody who had driven there, because the motorcycle parking was right at the end, but she didn't mind it. She was used to it now, having been at the building 5 days a week for the last month or so.

Since all of the commotion of the Orichalcos had ceased, the gang had gone back to school and Rose had nothing to do all day. So, after Solomon's suggestion that she gain herself a job, Seto had conveniently mentioned he was looking for a new assistant...

_"Fancy seeing you here," the CEO joked as Rose entered the coffee shop. She laughed, looking down at the man with a paper sprawled across the table, a takeaway coffee cup poised in his hand. _

_"Indeed," she said, "I never thought I'd find you in a place like this." She crossed her arms as she looked down at him with an amused smile. Although the CEO had been quite cold and hostile to her at first, he seemed to have warmed up to her considerably since the Battle City tournament, though he still harboured his hard menacing stare half the time. In rare occasions, though, he seemed to relax his uninviting demeanour when not many people were around. _

_Seto's lips twitched up in the ghost of a smile, "Sometimes I enjoy small mundane activities like a commoner would." _

_Rose then noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the tense set of his shoulders, and she tilted her head to the side. "You look stressed." _

_"I am stressed," he admitted, taking another sip of his coffee. "My personal assistant just quit on me and nobody else in the damn building knows how to organise my appointments right. I can't handle the workload without her." _

_"You don't say," Rose said, an amused hint to her voice. "I'm looking for a job but no place will take me because my only experience is stacking shelves." _

_Seto raised his eyebrows in hope, "Would you be interested in working for me?" he asked, placing his coffee cup down. _

_Rose's eyes widened in surprise, "You want me to work for you?" she asked. He nodded. "I was only joking, I don't know how to be an assistant!" _

_"Don't need to. I can teach you all you need to know, I just need someone who's organised," he explained. "So, what do you say?" _

_Rose tilted her head, looking down at the CEO, "You're really desperate for an assistant, aren't you?"_

_"You're going to believe that even if I say no," he replied. Rose nodded. "Come on, Rose. I need an assistant and you need work. It's good pay, too." _

_Rose thought for a moment, before making up her mind. "Alright," she said with a shrug._

_Seto let a victorious grin dawn his features. "Excellent. Now sit, we have a few things to discuss..." _

Being Seto's assistant may have been a bit full on for some people, considering his outrageous mood swings and sometimes silly demands, but Rose already knew how to deal with Seto, so it had just been a matter of learning the tasks. It was pretty cool, too, because for a while Seto had been building his amusement park, 'Kaiba Land.' The whole project seemed to be going quite well, and a new idea had just been brought to attention. With the opening of the theme park, Seto was going to hold a Duel Monsters tournament. Not any tournament however, this one would be much grander than Battle City, and gain a much larger crowd. This tournament was going to be a grand championship, all for the chance to take on the King of Games. Rose had already run the idea past Yugi who seemed beyond excited about the tournament, so in the last week she had been sending out invitations to duellists around the world who Seto believed were worthy to fight for the title. She had the last invitation sitting in her bag as she walked along the footpath, her red motorcycle now clear in her sight.

She never got sick of the sound of the engine roaring to life beneath her as she turned on the ignition. A content smile then spread across her face as she took off out of the car park, finished her working week and ready for a night of horror movies and lollies. That's right, it was October 31st: Halloween. Unfortunately, the rest of the gang were all busy doing various things tonight, so Rose and Yugi had decided to just stay in and do their own thing. Besides, they were a little old for trick or treating.

Rose finally pulled up outside the Mutou residence and jumped off of her bike, whistling to herself as she approached the side door. There was fake spider webs and grinning pumpkins lining the outside of the game shop, so instead of taking the side door to the house, she decided to have a look at Solomon's decorations for the evening. She swung open the door to the game shop and suddenly became face to face with a terrifying monster.

"Gyah!" Rose shrieked, jumping back from the figure in front of her and waving her arms around madly. The next thing she was aware of was the sound of Solomon laughing, and she realised it was just Yugi's Grandpa in a mask. She let out a relieved breath as he clutched his stomach.

"This old man's still got it!" he cheered, swinging the mask around as he laughed.

"That is not funny," Rose grumbled, walking past him to go into the house. Solomon had voiced his idea to keep the game shop open for the evening, so that trick or treaters could get their lollies and hopefully buy some games in the process. Rose walked into the kitchen and dumped her bag on the bench, as she spied Yugi and Joey sitting on the couch, enveloped in whatever video game they were currently playing. All she knew was that it involved a lot of shooting and characters screaming. She pulled the envelope out of her bag and walked over to the couch.

"Hey Rose," Yugi greeted, not tearing his eyes away from the screen. Rose shook her head in disapproval.

_"They've been at it since they got home from school," _Yami explained, his spirit hovering next to Yugi.

Rose clicked her tongue at them, "They're gonna get square eyes if they keep this up," she replied. She walked up behind Joey and waved the envelope in front of his face.

"Ah!" Joey tried to move his head to see the screen again. "Don't distract me!"

Rose rolled her eyes, "Not even interested in an invitation for the biggest Duel Monsters tournament in all of history?" she asked.

Joey instantly paused the game, "Duel Monsters tournament?!" He grabbed the envelope from her hand and tore it open, while Rose and Yami laughed.

"Has Kaiba sent out the invites already?" Yugi asked, turning to look over the couch at Rose.

She nodded, "I've been hunting down the participants all week."

Joey read the invite out loud, "Dear Mr Wheeler, the Kaiba Corporation has heard of your great success in the game of Duel Monsters and would be honoured if you would join us for the opening ceremony for Kaiba Land. For the opening of our theme park, The Kaiba Corporation is holding the biggest and most prestigious Duel Monsters tournament the world has ever seen. Duellists from around the world have been invited to compete, and the grand prize is a duel against the King of Games Yugi Mutou for a shot at his grand title. If you accept this invitation, please come to the Kaiba Corporation building on the 16th of November at 10am. If you do not wish to participate, please contact us immediately. Regards, Seto Kaiba." Joey lowered the invitation, a toothy grin on his face.

"Kaiba didn't actually write that letter, did he?" Yugi asked.

Rose laughed, "Of course not, I did. He has much more important things to do than write invitations."

"Good point," Yugi laughed. They turned back to Joey who hadn't said a word since he finished reading the invitation. "...Joey?"

The blond snapped his head back up, a cheesy grin on his face, "Did you hear that?" he said, pointing at the invitation, "Kaiba said I'm a good duellist!" he waved the invitation around, "King Of Games, here I come!" he joked.

Yugi laughed, ducking out of the way so that Joey's arm didn't hit him amidst his excitement. "Remember Joey, you have to defeat everyone else before you can duel me."

Joey waved a care-free hand at the boy, "No problemo." Upon waving his hand around, he had spotted the time on his watch. "Woops, I gotta go," he said, jumping up from the couch and grabbing his school bag. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he called over his shoulder as he ran out the door. Rose blinked at the door as it swung shut.

"Bye...?" she said, wondering why Joey had been in such a rush. "What was that about?" she asked Yugi as she sat down on the couch.

Yugi turned the TV off, "He's doing something with Serenity tonight I think," he explained. He then turned to face Yami also. "So tonight its just us three and a whole collection of horror movies!" He beamed from ear to ear in excitement, Yugi was quite the fan of scary movies.

_"Wonderful," _Yami said, an ever so slight sarcastic tone to his voice.

"Don't worry Pharaoh," Rose said lightly, "No ghosts can haunt you, because you are a ghost!" she joked. Yugi laughed with her as Yami crossed his arms, grumbling.

_"Doesn't make it any less unsettling,"_ he said.

...

A few hours later and Yugi and Rose were curled up on the couch under various blankets, with lollies, popcorn and all sorts surrounding them. They were sure that all the trick or treaters were finished for the night, as Solomon and his monster mask had closed up the Game shop a little while ago. It had been Yugi's idea to watch 'The Conjuring' and Rose wasn't doing too bad at holding her own. Yami however, was a different story, and an amusing one at that.

"Why is everyone in horror movies so stupid?" Rose complained, digging her hand into the popcorn bowl, "Do not go towards the creepy noise, use common sense people!"

Yugi laughed, "It's a movie, Rose. If they had common sense there would be no story." Rose hummed a response, before something jumped out on the screen. If Yami hadn't have been a spirit, he probably would have fallen off the edge of the couch. Rose burst out laughing as she saw the horrified look on the mighty Pharaoh's face, and Yugi tried to hold in his own laugh.

"You know," Rose said, calming down again, "You don't have to watch this, you can just hide in the puzzle if you don't like it."

Yami regained his composure once more as he crossed his arms, still sitting on the edge of the couch, _"Yes, but if I do, I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it."_

Yugi chuckled, "You've got that right," he grinned at the spirit, who simply grumbled.

They continued watching the movie, with Yugi laughing at the characters and feeling completely at ease, while Rose was starting to react more like the Pharaoh next to her as the film went on.

"Eek!" She sudden squealed, pulling the blanket up so that she couldn't see.

Yami chuckled, _"See, who's scared now?"_ he teased, though Rose could tell by his voice that he was still feeling a little uneasy.

Rose moved to punch his shoulder, but of course she simply passed right through him. It felt quite odd, she thought, the tingly sensation that came over her closed fist as it went through the spirit. It did remind her of her disappointment that he didn't have his own body. Sometimes in situations such as this, it was almost like he was actually sitting there with them, but not quite as she was just reminded. It made her wonder once again what on earth could have happened back in Egypt to warrant for her having a body and him simply being an ancient spirit, sharing a body with the King of Games. It made sense to her, she thought, his spirit being locked in the puzzle for thousands of years, to be found by Yugi and therefore tying them together. Her situation however, still left her dumbfounded. Perhaps if she hadn't have been hit by that stupid car she would have more of a clue as to what happened. Could she have simply been reborn somehow? She didn't know. Every possibility seemed about as unlikely as the next. She hadn't realised that she was still staring at him until the spirit turned to look at her, a questioning look in his eyes.

_"Something on your mind?" _he asked.

Rose snapped out of her thoughts, and her face turned the slightest tinge of pink as she realised she was just caught staring at him. "Oh, nothing," she assured him, turning back to the movie. Although the movie itself was still unsettling for her, it didn't seem to bother her as much as before as they continued to watch, because now she had something much more important on her mind, and she hoped they would get answers soon.

* * *

Hey guys! And part 3 is underway! Wooh xD I was so excited I got half this chapter done once posting the end of part 2, and just wrote the other half immediately after waking up. You better love me xD But as the summary suggests, this is the part where Rose and the Pharaoh go back to egypt! Before they even get there however, they have to survive Kaiba's tournament, which is full of surprises! So sit back and enjoy the story, because this part is filled with cute awkwardness, jealousy, kick ass duels, and one hell of an adventure at the end. And of course, a bit of romance ;)

Please let me know what you think!

PharaohsThrone :)


	2. Chapter 50 - What Was Left Unsaid

**Chapter 50: What Was Left Unsaid**

_"Guess who just got their driver's licence!" Joey cheered as he burst through the front door of the game shop. Rose and Yugi had been helping Solomon unpack some new games that had just come in, and the two looked up from their boxes at the blond who was grinning widely at them. He ran over, waving a small piece of laminated paper in their faces. Rose laughed at his antics, taking the licence from him and holding it out so that Yugi could look at it as well. _

_"Well done, Joey," Yugi said, looking at the photo of their friend that was not unlike a mug shot. Nobody was allowed to smile in their licence photos, so there was always a joke about it being a gloomy prison photo. _

_"Do you have a car?" Rose asked Joey as she handed his licence back to him. _

_"You betcha!" he said, "My mum helped me buy one," he announced with a triumphant grin. _

_"Great! That means you can drive us to the meeting at Kaiba Corp next week, right?" Yugi said, pulling another game out of the box._

_"Yeah, sure," Joey said, waving a care free hand at the boy, "Come check out my car!" _

It was this conversation that made Yugi presume that Joey would indeed give him a lift to the meeting, but now as he stood on the footpath outside the game shop tapping his foot on the pavement, he was starting to think that the blond had forgotten him. He was happy that Joey had patched things up with his mother and gotten a car out of it, but it didn't help if Joey had already gone off to the meeting without him. Yugi sighed as he sat down on the pavement, maybe he was just held up somewhere. The sound of a roaring engine then reached his ears, and he lifted his head up expecting to see a vehicle coming down the street soon, but he didn't need to listen long to know who it would be.

The red Kawasaki Ninja pulled up on the curb as Rose brought the bike to a stop, and her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at Yugi in confusion. "Shouldn't you be at Seto's meeting?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Yugi said, "But Joey hasn't come to pick me up. I have no other way of getting there on time," he groaned.

Rose jumped off of the bike to dig in the compartment below the seat, "I can give you a lift," she offered, "There's room for one more on the back," she explained with a smile.

Yugi looked up at the motorbike with uncertainty as he stood up, "Are you sure?" he asked, sizing up the intimidating vehicle.

"Of course," Rose said reassuringly. "It's built to carry two people if needed, you're not going to fall off."

Yugi bit his bottom lip, "I don't know..." sure he had seen Rose and Tristan riding their bikes around and not gaining any injuries, but it still gave him a slight feeling of unease.

Right on cue, the Pharaoh's spirit appeared beside the boy. _"Yugi, why don't you let me take over?" _he asked.

The boy sighed, "Alright." The Millennium puzzle then lit up and Rose smiled at Yami as he walked over. She pulled out the spare helmet from underneath the seat compartment, holding it out to him.

"We don't have any other way of getting to the meeting on time," Yami said to Yugi, who's spirit was now hovering beside him. He took the helmet from Rose and placed it on his head, causing his hair to stick out from under it in odd directions. Rose chuckled. "What?" Yami asked, wondering what was so funny.

"Oh, nothing," she said, swinging a leg over the bike with a grin.

Yami eyed the vehicle for a moment, before moving to climb on the back behind Rose. "This isn't dangerous at all, is it?" he asked, voicing Yugi's concerns that were clear in his own head.

Rose turned to look over her shoulder at him, "Do you trust me?" she asked, turning the engine on as she did so. The bike roared to life beneath her, and Yami could feel the vibration from the engine under his seat.

"Of course I do," he replied without hesitation.

Rose grinned, turning back to face the front and grab hold of the handle bars. "Then hold on tight and enjoy the ride." Yami barely had time to react when she floored the throttle, causing the bike to lurch forwards at it took off. Rose suddenly felt a pair of arms grasp her waist tightly, as Yami let out a startled noise. She laughed, "I told you to hold on!"

Regaining his composure after the surprise take off, Yami chuckled as they sped down the street towards Kaiba Corp. Rose didn't hear it, but she felt the vibration of his chest moving through her back, and she welcomed the warmth of the body behind her, smiling to herself as they rode through the streets. She felt odd for thinking it, but the feeling of his arms clasped around her waist was comforting, and she once again had to tell herself that she was just being silly. Rose laughed and shook her head at herself. The Pharaoh seemed to relax behind her as he got used to the position on the bike, and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What's so funny?" he asked over the roar of the engine.

Rose turned to look at him for a moment, amused by his innocent gesture. "Nothing, don't worry," she said to him. Yami shrugged and went back to enjoying the view as they sped along the streets of Domino, the large Kaiba Corp building looming up in the distance. _She seems to be doing that a lot lately, _he thought to himself.

_'You mean like her mind's always occupied with something but she never tells us what?' _Yugi asked, though didn't speak out loud to avoid Rose overhearing.

_Exactly, _Yami agreed. Soon, Rose and the Pharaoh were pulling up outside the front entrance of Kaiba Corp, to see Mokuba standing on the steps. He ran down to greet them as they dismounted the bike.

"There you are! We've been waiting for you!" the boy scolded Yami as the man took his helmet off, apologising for his tardiness. "Also, we have a problem," Mokuba added, turning to Rose. "One of the participants sent a message yesterday saying they didn't want to be a part of the tournament, we're one person down!"

Rose groaned, "What part of ASAP do people _not _understand?" Yami shook his hair out so that it sat in its usual even spikes, as Rose dismounted the bike. "I guess I don't have the day off after all," she joked, pulling her helmet off and placing it with the parked bike. She and Yami followed Mokuba up the steps and into reception, where the ladies at the desk smiled and greeted Rose as she walked past. Despite what some people thought of the Kaiba Corporation, Rose very much liked working there. Most of the people were quite pleasant to be around, and always polite enough to say hi. It reminded her of how back in Australia nobody really spoke to her at all in her workplace. After her supervisor noticed that the other employees weren't willing to work with her, they had given her solo jobs so that she didn't have to deal with their hostility. They entered the elevator silently, all of them deep in thought as to how to solve this situation. Rose was starting to feel a little stressed from the sudden information, as Seto had wanted to hold the opening night to the tournament in only a couple weeks time, if they couldn't find another person by then, what were they going to do?

The trio exited the elevator at the correct floor, and found the room filled with duellists from around the world, it was quite a sight. Seto was standing off to the side, watching them all with his arms crossed and a stern expression. Rose could almost see his mind ticking over, various thoughts trying to solve their current situation. When he noticed her walking over with Yami and Mokuba, he raised an eyebrow.

"I thought I said I didn't need you today," he noted, turning towards the trio.

"Yeah, well, I didn't come on business," Rose pointed to the man beside her, "I'm playing taxi. But I may as well stay until we find a replacement." Seto nodded, before a familiar blond haired boy bounded over to the group, and the CEO moved to talk to Roland.

"There you are buddy!" Joey grinned at Yami, "Where ya been?"

The Pharaoh sighed, "Waiting for you, Joey." The blond raised an eyebrow, "Don't you remember? You said you'd drive me here today."

"Oh..." realisation struck the man's face, "Whoops, sorry!" he scratched the back of his head with an apologetic smile. "Anyway, what's the hold up? Why hasn't the meeting started yet?" Rose filled Joey in on how they were now one participant short, and he didn't appear to be too bothered by the information. He looked at Rose for a moment, before simply saying, "Why don't you do it?"

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Me? I don't think I'm a good enough duellist for this kind of tournament, Joey."

"Why not?" the blond persisted, "I've seen you duel, Rose. Yugi, tell her she's a good duellist." Joey turned his gaze to the Pharaoh who had only been half listening to the conversation, but then snapped out of his thoughts now that he was dragged into it.

Yami didn't need any time to think of what he would say, "Rose, you're a great duellist. And this would be a good opportunity to showcase what you can do..." Rose could almost hear the unspoken words that hung in the air after the sentence, something he had left out that both of them were aware of. Everybody knew that the Pharaoh had limited time here in the 21st century, and thus the same truth was possible for Rose, but nobody was certain about that. She watched him casually fold his arms as he finished speaking, and he gave her an encouraging smile. He was implying that she should make the most of what she could, in case she did have a limited amount of time to take hold of such opportunities. Rose still looked unsure, despite their reassurance, but she turned to the small raven haired boy who had only been half paying attention.

"What do you think Mokuba?" she asked, grabbing his full attention. "Would I be able to join the tournament?"

The boy shrugged, "Don't ask me, my brother's the one running this thing. But you should give it a shot, anyway," he urged.

Rose sighed, "Oh alright, I'll see what I can do..." She walked over to Seto, followed by Joey and Yami, and the CEO turned to them with a questioning look. "What would you say to me joining the tournament instead?" she asked him, almost certain that the answer would be no. For one, she certainly wasn't a good enough duellist, and secondly, she was supposed to be helping this thing get under way, not actually being a part of it.

"That sure is a _convenient_ solution," Seto hummed to himself, and Rose instantly knew there would be a _but_. "But that's a tough one. I've never seen you duel before," he noted.

Joey slung an arm over Rose's shoulder, "Come on, Kaiba. She's a kick ass duellist!"

Seto folded his arms, ignoring Joey's comment, "Neither have you ever actually been in a tournament to my knowledge." Seto would have had a very good point had Rose not spoken up next.

"Well, actually..." she said, looking off to the side, "I have been in a tournament." The two people standing beside Rose both turned and stared at her in surprise and confusion. She continued, but the uncertainty in her voice wasn't completely gone, "Back in Australia, I was in the AUSNZ tournament. It's basically just the best duellists from Australia and New Zealand, but it isn't that big. A bit too easy if you ask me," she chuckled nervously. "You can look it up if you want." She held one arm across her body, holding the opposite arm, a sign that she was nervous. The Pharaoh found himself smiling ever so slightly, it was quite cute. Seto nodded and moved over to the small desk at the side of the room, where his laptop was situated. Rose, Joey, Yami and Mokuba all followed, gathering around the CEO as he pulled up a web browser. It didn't take too long to find evidence of said tournament online, and soon he was pulling up the results for the AUSNZ 'Duelling Extravaganza.'

Seto's eyes skimmed the page as he read out loud, "Many contestants from around Australia and New Zealand competed in our AUSNZ tournament yesterday, but out of them all only one could be crowned winner. After many rounds of strenuous duels, Australian contestant Rose Henderson placed first..." he raised his eyebrows at the screen.

"First?!" Joey exclaimed, leaning in closer to look at the screen.

"Henderson?" Yami asked, turning to Rose.

She shrugged, "Seems I didn't have a known last name, the court gave me one for legal reasons," she explained.

Joey was still gaping at the computer screen. "Why didn't you tell us you placed first in a Duel Monsters tournament?!" he asked, waving his arms around as if it was extremely important.

Rose shrugged again, "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"But-" he persisted, "You placed first!"

Rose sighed, "I told you, it wasn't a big tournament. It's the reason I was on that cruise, I used the prize money to buy the ticket." Joey was about to speak again, when Rose continued, "_And_ it never came up in conversation either, I'm not one to brag." She then muttered the last of her sentence, "Not that there's anything to brag about." She saw Yugi's spirit standing beside Yami, his own questioning look in his eyes as Joey gave up on probing Rose.

_"Why didn't you tell us you had a last name?" _he asked. Rose sighed, this was too many questions at once.

"Because," she explained, "I never liked the name, so I avoided using it whenever I could."

"Did you know Rose had a last name?" Joey suddenly turned to Seto, who didn't seem to be too fazed by this new information half as much as the blond was.

"Of course I did," Seto snorted at the man, "She's employed under the Henderson name."

"Well-" Joey had turned to Rose to ask her something else, but barely got to start his sentence.

"Calm down dweebs, this isn't a press conference," Seto interrupted. "You can grill my assistant later." He turned in his chair to look at Rose, who gave him a thankful look for saving her from more questions. "I think I have a way to determine if you're good enough to join my tournament," he said, a smirk plastering his lips. "Defeat Wheeler in a duel and you're in."

* * *

Hey guys! You're pretty lucky that I'm so into this story at the moment, because the chapters are coming to me so easily! It's great! :D And I'm gonna have sooooo much fun writing in a few chapters time. You'll see why :D Anyway, I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as i am writing it! (which is a lot btw :P)

Please let me know what you think! Any constructive criticism is welcome :)

PharaohsThrone :D


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